Even Better Than a Turkey!

Chapter 1: Thanksgiving's Here

It was Thanksgiving in Sandover Village and everybody was getting ready for their Thanksgiving Feast. The huts were packed with family and friends as they all waited for the food to cook. The only people not getting ready for anything special were a young boy and an Ottsel.

Jak and Daxter didn't have any family so they weren't concerned in participating in any celebration with a family that they didn't even know. The two pals had even more time lately to play together because Samos wasn't ordering Daxter to clean his hut up since the whole chainsaw incident.

Jak and Daxter ignored all of the noise coming from the different huts while they relaxed with their backs on the ground; busy gazing up at the whirling clouds which were pink from the sunrise. They were on the grass near Samos' hut. As the cloud which was currently holding Daxter's attention vanished, the furry Ottsel turned his head toward another group. "Hey, Jak, that big cloud over there. It looks like Samos when he whacks me over the head with his staff. See, the squished looking cloud next to that one is me." Jak gave his best friend a smile as he looked over at him.

"Hey!" Daxter groaned as a whole bunch of dark clouds invaded the sky and stirred up his cloud picture. The Ottsel shivered as a shower of snowflakes erupted over them; the cold, cruel wind flowing through his fur.

"DAXTER! JAK! GET OVER HERE!" Samos' voice shouted above all of the commotion coming from the nearby huts. Looking at each other, Jak and Daxter began their short walk over to the Green Sage's hut.

Daxter poked his head in the doorway of the hut. Samos was looking out of the window. "Shh," Daxter cautioned Jak as he crept inside. Stepping over the noisy floorboard, Daxter finally made it right behind the Sage. Gathering a big breath, he prepared to shout at the top of his lungs, a thing Daxter is always doing anyway.

"Don't even think about it!" Samos turned around suddenly. Daxter jumped in surprise, exactly the opposite of what he was hoping to do. He could never scare or surprise Samos no matter how hard he tried. Before the Ottsel could reply, the old Sage cut him off. "Jak, I need you to buy me a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Also, Keira was wondering if you could come over for the dinner later tonight." Jak nodded in reply.

"Hey, what about me!" Daxter asked. "If Jak's going to the dinner, I'm comin' too." Samos sighed at the Ottsel's stubborn remark.

"I suppose you can come too…" Samos said, regretfully. "If you will buy me that turkey. One of the villagers might have an extra that they might be willing to give away… for a small fee of course."
"Well, Greenie, it looks like there ain't gonna be much of a dinner here tonight. Jak's got a date with Keira, which just so happens to start in three minutes. Too bad…" Daxter said rather joyfully while he pretended to look sorry.

"Well, since you haven't been able to clean up around here, you can go and get the bird for tonight instead. Just make sure you get it back here in one piece."

"What's in it for me?" the Ottsel grumbled.

"Well, if you do it I'll let you come to the dinner. Of course if you'd rather be left alone with the Lurkers out there, I won't bother troubling you." Daxter quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure that there weren't any Lurkers that were going to pounce on him.

"You can count on me!" the furry Ottsel folded his arms across his chest heroically.

"Are you still here?" Daxter rolled his eyes as he trotted out of the door, bracing himself against the harsh wind that started to whip at his sides. He stood on the bridge that was just outside of the hut and shut his eyes, trying to keep them from becoming freezing balls of ice. He noticed that all of a sudden, the wind wasn't pushing him this way and that. Opening an eye, he peered up to see the form of Jak towering over him as his body shielded the poor Ottsel from the force of the storm. Giving his friend an encouraging thumbs up, Jak rushed down the stairs and down into the lower section of Samos' hut, where Keira always worked on the A-Grav Zoomer, as he waited for the Sage's daughter to come out from under her working goggles and start their date. Sighing, Daxter began walking down the bridge and toward the village.

Chapter 2: Trading Time!

"Hmm, where should I check first?" Daxter asked himself. "I know! The Farmer will obviously have a turkey, I'll go talk to him!"

…. "What do ya mean ya won't give me the turkey!" Daxter couldn't believe it! The Farmer had a turkey left over, but he wasn't willing to give it over.

"I told you, she's not for sale." The Farmer said, making a gesture with his hand toward the turkey in the pen next to his hut.

"I can pay you then."

"She's…not…for…sale." He paused between every word to make sure the Ottsel understood.

"Please!" Daxter shouted and fell to his knees, begging for the bird. "I'll give you anything for it!"

"…well, I would like to own a new animal in my pen. If ya can find one I'll give the turkey to you." The Farmer agreed.

"Deal!" Daxter walked off and stopped along the beach facing the Forbidden Jungle. "Hmm, now where am I going to get an animal for him? …The Sculptor's Muse! He won't be willing to give her away so I could just steal her. …No, then Jak and me will end up going back to Misty Island because the Sculptor will think that she ran away again. Hmm, I could steal a Yakow from the Farmer and then just give it back to him later saying that I found another Yakow for the pen. …No, he'll notice if one of his "cows" goes missing. Hmm, what is always around me everyday that me and Jak have to see and deal with? …Lurkers! I could give the Farmer a Lurker. But, how am I going to get a Lurker? I couldn't possibly catch one and come back in one piece. And even if I could, the Farmer wouldn't take it. …I could dress it up to look like a Yakow!" Daxter's smile soon faded as he realized what he was going to have to do to get a Lurker. "I can't believe I'm going to do this." He said with a sigh as he turned around and headed back up to Samos' hut.

By now, Jak and Keira were gone and Samos was busy watching his Green Eco tank fill up. Daxter needed a distraction to draw the Sage away from the Warp Gate. Getting an idea, he casually walked in and up to Samos.

"You're back already? Where's the turkey?" Samos asked.

"I'll get it, I didn't have time to buy one yet. …I was too busy talking to Keira and Jak. They told me they want to see you right away at the…Sculptor's hut. I don't know why, and I didn't bother asking." Daxter lied.

"Hmm, well, I'll be right over then." And with that, the Sage flew out of the door. Grinning, Daxter ran over and jumped through the Warp Gate, getting himself ready for what he was about to do…

… "FOOL! You expect us to give you one of our loyal servants?"

"…Well, I was hopin'…" Daxter cringed at the Dark Sage's words. Daxter had taken the Warp Gate all the way back to Gol and Maia's Citadel. He didn't want to do it, but if he wanted to get a turkey, he had to. He had made it to the front door, but found it locked when he ran face-first into it. After giving up on trying to push it open, Daxter had turned around to come face-to-face with another Lurker. Laughing nervously, he had turned the other way, only to find another one. They had formed a small circle around him, blocking all of his possible escape routes. "Heh… I don't think you're all here for a tea party…" And now Daxter wound up talking to the owners of the fortress, themselves.

"I could, um, trade, right? …I'll give ya anything… uh, except anything that has to do with death, Precursor Robots, kidnapping, cages, death, or anything of the sort. Oh, and—" Daxter actually closed his mouth, for the first time, as Maia held up a hand to silence him.

"You ruin all of the fun… fine! We'll trade for something reasonable." Gol's sister joined the conversation.

"Trade for what?" Daxter waited for the answer, but instead got silence.

"…What do you suppose is in that barrel?" Gol moved his hand toward a familiar looking barrel near them.

"How many guesses do I get?" Daxter asked, cautiously. Gol and Maia glanced at each other with amusement.

"As many as you like," replied Maia. Daxter placed a furry paw under his chin while he thought of what it could possibly.

"…Is it… fish?" After no answer, Daxter frowned and guessed again.

"Is it clothing?… Grass?… I got it! You two kidnapped Samos again and then stuffed him into the barrel!…" Some Lurkers started making a strange roaring sound that had to be laughter. "Wait, I've got it! There's nothing in the barrel! Ha! That's it isn't it! You tricked me!…" After no reply, Daxter started getting annoyed. "Admit it, you tricked me!"

"No, you fool!" Now it was Gol who was getting annoyed.

"Then prove it!" Daxter forgot about all of the Lurkers surrounding him, ready to rip him into tiny, sticky pieces, he wanted an answer. Turning towards one of the Lurkers, Maia commanded it with a simple nod. Lifting up the barrel, the creature opened it and poured it into a bigger barrel next to that one. Daxter's eyes widened as a thick, horrible substance came flowing out—Dark Eco. It was so obvious and Daxter couldn't believe he hadn't guessed it.

"We'll be waiting, little one," Maia smiled at the horrified expression on Daxter's face. "Of course getting our revenge from you would be a great thing to trade for, but Dark Eco will do, however." The corrupted Sages disappeared as the Lurkers all returned to the inside of their Citadel, leaving Daxter all alone with a big problem.

"How am I supposed to bring a barrel of Dark Eco over here? … Wait, I got it! It's risky, and I sure hope it works." Daxter rushed back through the Warp Gate and, finding that Samos was still gone, made his way over to the Sculptor's hut…

…Ugh, this thing's heavy!" Daxter set the barrel next to the entrance to the Citadel.

"ROAR!" Daxter jumped as he turned to find a Lurker on a leash nearby. Catching the hint that it was there for him to take, Daxter carefully grabbed the leash and pulled on it. Surprisingly, the Lurker was silent, and came over to him, obediently. He made his way back over to the Warp Gate and was about to jump through…

"Wait!" Daxter froze and turned around to find Gol and Maia hovering next to the barrel. Gol was eyeing the Ottsel strangely. "You wouldn't mind if we emptied it before you go, would you?" he asked, suspiciously.

"…Uh, …no…" Daxter replied nervously.

"One more Dark Eco barrel will be enough to fill our vast container halfway… but, I don't think we'll be able to get it halfway today…" Gol moved forward and rubbed his hand across the surface of the barrel. "…Especially with a fake Dark Eco barrel!" He showed his hand to Daxter. The Ottsel pretended to appear surprised when he saw that Gol's whole hand was smeared with a layer of bronze paint. Underneath the paint on the "Dark Eco barrel" there was a section of wood visible. "FOOL! Did you really think that you could fool us?" When Daxter had gone over to the Sculptor's hut, he had crept inside and ducked under a table so he wouldn't be spotted by the people partying around the place. Under the table were three cans of paint. Bronze, silver, and violet. A small paintbrush and a wooden barrel were next to them. Finding what he was looking for, Daxter had a hard time bringing the stuff outside. Once outside, he opened the bronze paint can, with difficulty, and grabbed the paintbrush. Then he began painting on the wooden barrel, coating it with a fine layer of shining bronze color. Making sure he drew all of the symbols on the barrel to make it look exactly like a real Dark Eco barrel, he carried it back through the Warp Gate.

"Well, I wasn't stupid enough to really mess around with Dark Eco!" Daxter shouted as he took the last moment to sprint through the portal, dragging the Lurker behind him. Two Lurkers, which had just come out of the Citadel to see Daxter disappear through the Warp Gate, started after him.
"No!" Gol stopped the Lurkers before they had a chance to jump through the portal.

"Don't bother. He will pay soon enough," Maia said, as she and her twisted brother laughed.

Daxter came tumbling through the Warp Gate. "Owwf!" he grumbled as he landed on his face. Getting up, he noticed that the leash was still sticking through the Warp Gate. "Come on, buddy." Daxter said as he gave the leash a big tug. The Lurker jumped through the portal and landed right on the poor Ottsel. "Geeff offwff owff fwee." Daxter's words were muffled from the lack of space down there. The Lurker cocked its head, showing that it didn't understand. "I said, GET OFF OF ME!" Daxter screamed. The creature obeyed and got up. "Uhg, how can it get any worse?"…

… "Hold still!" Daxter was jumping up and down, trying to make the Lurker appear like a Yakow. Apparently, it didn't want to be a Yakow, as it kept brushing off all of the twigs and dirt that Daxter kept putting on it. "Fine! I'll just have to find someone who can do it for me. Who do I know that is strong enough to fight a Lurker….and actually win?"…

… "I'll do it, as long as you catch me some more fish." The Fisherman said.

"Fine."

"Better hope ya got a net, I lost mine the other day. No net, no fish, no Yakow."

"Oh, great." Daxter sighed. What now? "Maybe the Birdwatcher will have a net!"…

… "I'll let you have the net if you take a picture of a rare bird for me."

"This is getting ridiculous. Okay, I'll do it." Daxter agreed, as he picked up the camera she handed him. Walking out of the hut, Daxter glanced around, wondering where he could find a rare looking bird. His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye. He spun around to see a small yellow bird with red spots all over it fly around in the sky. "Well, that looks like a rare bird." Daxter got the camera ready… "Hey!" Daxter yelled as the bird flew behind a rock cliff near the Oracle. Narrowing his eyes, he jumped after it.

Hugging the side of the cliff, he made his way to the end and peered around it. The bird was busy pecking at some grains of sand on the beach. Daxter climbed up a nearby tree to get a better shot. "Ha, now I've got ya." Daxter had his hand ready to take the picture when he heard a strange a cracking sound. "Huh?" Daxter looked down at the branch he was on to find that it was snapping. Daxter jumped into the air and pumped his feet, trying to run back down the tree to safety. Unfortunately, even Ottsel feet can't run on air, and Daxter went falling down to the beach. The force of his landing, sent the bird flying away again. Noticing that the camera was almost empty, he checked to see if maybe he accidentally took a picture of the bird. Luckily, the camera was a digital camera and it showed all of the pictures that had been taken. Unluckily, they were all of Daxter as he fell down from the tree. He looked closely at the last picture. It was perfect. It was when he hit the ground, only the way the sand had stirred from his impact, it appeared that he had great tan wings. Crossing his fingers, he rushed back over to the Birdwatcher's home.

"Oh, I've never heard of that bird before. Thank you very much. Here's the net I promised you." The lady handed Daxter the net as she took the camera back from him….

… "Whew. Okay, I've got a net." Daxter rushed back over to the Fisherman. Daxter ran to the bridge and dropped the net down. A huge group of fish jumped into the net. Smiling, Daxter pulled it up. All of the fish jumped back out immediately. "What!" Daxter picked up a rock and threw it into the river. "Stupid fish!" Suddenly, a huge Lurker Shark jumped up out of the water and onto the bridge, dazed, a big bruise on its head. Daxter and the Fisherman just stared at the beast in disbelief.

"I'll be honored to make your Lurker into a Yakow."

Daxter brought the Fisherman over to the Lurker, which he had secured to a tree. "Ya see, it wouldn't let me put some twigs on the side of its head to look like horns. The Fisherman picked up the twigs and some rope. He tied it to the Lurker and then looked back at Daxter. Daxter's mouth was hanging open. "So it lets you do it!" …

Chapter 3: Where's the Turkey?

… "I've got another Yakow for you!" Daxter ran up to the Farmer, panting for breath from dragging the Lurker everywhere.

"Hmm, it must be a different breed of Yakow…" the Farmer gazed at his new animal for the pen. "Okay, you may have my turkey." The Farmer led his new "Yakow" into the pen and pulled the turkey out. Daxter found that he didn't need a leash for the turkey, it wouldn't leave him alone. It followed him no matter where he went. Daxter turned around and started leading the bird towards Samos' hut. What he didn't see was the Farmer wink at the turkey…

… "I don't get it. Daxter said that you two wanted to see me." Samos shook his head. He was back in his hut with Jak and Keira, their date was over by now. They were all waiting for Daxter to arrive with the turkey. Everyone was surprised when the turkey they were waiting for walked in, dragging a basket. It hopped up onto the table and placed the basket down. Jak and Keira looked at each other and then back at the bird. Smiling, the turkey opened the basket. Everyone peered in to see Daxter laying on a plate with an apple in his mouth and all of his feet tied together. The turkey ducked as Daxter spit the apple out. "Well, Daxter, I have to admit. You did a pretty good job, this is even better than a turkey on a leash." Samos teased Daxter as he laughed. The turkey grabbed a fork and gave Samos a wink and a thumbs up.

"I can't wait until next Thanksgiving!" the turkey smiled.

"Ahh!" Daxter snapped the ropes and ran out of the hut.

THE END